1943 Orange Bowl


The 1943 Orange Bowl, part of the 1942 bowl game season, took place on January 1, 1943, at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. The competing teams were the Alabama Crimson Tide, representing the Southeastern Conference and the Boston College Eagles, competing as a football independent. Alabama won the game 37–21.

Teams

Alabama

The 1942 Alabama squad finished the regular season 8–3 with losses coming to the Georgia Bulldogs, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the Georgia Navy Pre-Flight. The Monday following the 35–19 defeat against Georgia Navy Pre-Flight, Alabama accepted a bid to play in the Orange Bowl on New Years Day. The appearance marked the first for Alabama in the Orange Bowl, and their seventh overall.

Boston College

The 1942 Boston College squad entered their final game of the regular season against the rival Holy Cross Crusaders ranked No. 1 with a perfect record of 8–0. In the contest, the Crusaders upset the heavily favored Eagles by a final score of 55–12 resulting in Boston College losing their No. 1 ranking and finishing the regular season with a record of 8–1. The following Monday, the Eagles accepted a bid to play in the Orange Bowl on New Years Day. The appearance marked the first for Boston College in the Orange Bowl, and their third overall.

Game summary

Looking to rebound from their loss to Holy Cross in the regular season finale, Boston College was looking for redemption against the Crimson Tide. With this mindset entering the game, the Eagles raced to a 14–0 first quarter lead. All-American fullback Mike Holovak scored both first-quarter touchdowns for the Eagles on a 65-yard reception from Edward Doherty and on a 33-yard run. Alabama responded with a 22 point second quarter to take a 22–21 lead at the half. Wheeler Leeth scored the Crimson Tide's first points on a 14-yard touchdown reception from Russ Mosley and Ted Cook had Alabama's second score on a 17-yard reception from Johnny August. George Hecht missed both extra points and Alabama only trailed by two 14–12. The teams then traded touchdown with Bama scoring on a 40-yard Tom Jenkins run and Boston College on a one-yard Mike Holovak run with a 15-yard George Hecht field goal at the end of the end of the quarter giving Alabama a 22–21 lead at halftime.
In the second half, the Alabama defense shutout the Boston College offense, and the offense scored two more touchdowns. Johnny August reached the endzone on a 15-yard touchdown run in the third and Tom Jenkins on a one-yard run in the fourth. The final points of the game came late in the fourth when on a punt the Eagles' Harry Connolly was tackled by Joe Domnanovich in the endzone for a safety on a failed punt attempt.